Thurs. July 12

Ever need a sense of tranquility in your life? (Don't answer this, you live in or around Boston.) Here's our hearty recommendation: "The Forest Hills Lantern Festival," Thursday, July 12, from 6 - 9 pm  (rain date: July 19). Here's the way Cecily Miller, our friend at Forest Hills describes the annual event: "It's a Buddhist-inspired memorial celebration, inspired by the traditional Japanese Bon Festival, a Buddhist ritual honoring the departed spirits of family ancestors. Paper lanterns are elegantly inscribed by Japanese and Chinese calligraphers and then participants add drawings and  personal messages of love and hope.  At dusk, people gather around Lake Hibiscus, light the votive candles in their lanterns, and float them onto the peaceful surface of the water.Drifting and glimmering across the Lake, the lanterns symbolize the soul’s journey after death." We ask: Does the soul have a journey after death? Here we run into our own agnostic philosophy, but upon reflection, we can cheerily say, "Maybe." Agnosticism is not atheism. We do not deny the existence of a Higher Power or an afterlife. We just don't bloody know. But we know we enjoy trying to believe - we've done it at a few reggae shows and Al Green certainly made us a (temporary) believer when we saw him sing in Dorchester - so we're thinking this cannot be a bad thing at all.
You also get live music by Master Tsuji’s Samurai Taiko Drummers; gospel singers Ron Murphy, Athene Wilson and Wannetta Jackson. Japanese Bon dances performed by Showa Institute and Chinese folk dances by Chu Ling Dance Academy. The festival begins at 6 pm, as families and friends gather to share picnics on the grass and enjoy a multi-cultural program of music and dance. Admission is free, with a $10 donation for use of each lantern. Parking is $10. (Oh, as there's no electricity after dark in the cemetary bring a flashlight.)

95 Forest Hills Ave., Jamaica Plain, 617.524.0128 foresthillstrust.org.